Chicago — “Target acquired. Yeah, that’s it.” That’s how middleweight Jared Cannonier is looking at his UFC 319 match-up with Michael “Venom” Page this Saturday.
MVP is a welterweight moonlighting as 185lbs lately, and as such, wasn’t really on Cannonier’s radar so to speak. He’s admitted he doesn’t have the same power at middleweight that he does at 170, which brings about questions regarding how Cannonier will approach the fight, and how it will play out.
Cannonier (18-8) isn’t a fan of that question it seems, telling one reporter during Wednesday’s UFC 319 media day that “I love it when you guys ask that question. ‘How do you see the fight playing out.’ I don’t know. I see myself winning. That’s the only way I see the fight playing out. That’s the only thing I want to envision.”
“I don’t want to think like ‘well this could happen or that could happen.’ That’s already been taken into account before I sign the contract. I see myself winning. Pressure, making him miss if he throws. But it’s going to be pressure. Action if he goes, action if he doesn’t. I want to put my hands on him, and if I get my hands on him, I’m going to put him down.”
At 41, Jared Cannonier is looking to make the unlikely climb back to title contention, after coming up short against Israel Adesanya a few years back. As far as Saturday is concerned, “I’m going to go out there and show the world again that I’m still here, I’m still dangerous, and I’m only getting better,” he stated.
Joe Rogan, the UFC analyst and podcaster, recently suggested Michael Page was the biggest puzzle in MMA to solve. That’s not something Cannonier subscribes to either.
“No. I think he’s been successful in what he’s been able to do. The biggest? Everybody wants the ‘est’ at the end of something. And if they ain’t going for that, they want to be the GOAT. I don’t even want to get into that pissing contest, ‘who’s the biggest, who’s the bestest, who’s the baddest?'” exclaimed Cannonier. “That’s for everybody else to determine. I don’t even want to go into that conversation. I feel like I would have to lessen myself to even think in that regard. Next question.”
Watch the full UFC 319 media day appearance by middleweight Jared Cannonier above. The card takes place this Saturday, August 16, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, IL.
